Active retarder for 3D image display and display device

Abstract

Provided are an active retarder for 3D image display with an improved balance of display quality between the left and right eyes and with sufficiently reduced crosstalk, and a display device using the same. The active retarder for 3D image display, the active retarder including: an optical laminate that includes: a pair of substrates; a pair of electrodes disposed between the pair of substrates; a liquid crystal layer formed from a liquid crystal material containing liquid crystal molecules; columnar spacers; and light-blocking components each shielding the corresponding columnar spacer from light limitedly.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An active retarder for a three-dimensional (3D) image display, the active retarder comprising:
 an optical laminate that comprises:
 a pair of substrates; 
 a pair of electrodes disposed between the pair of substrates; 
 a liquid crystal layer formed from a liquid crystal material containing liquid crystal molecules; 
 columnar spacers; and 
 light-blocking components, each shielding a corresponding columnar spacer, among the columnar spacers, from light, 
   wherein the light-blocking components are arranged in a dot pattern in a plan view correspondingly to the columnar spacers that are arranged in a dot pattern in the plan view,   each of the light-blocking components overlaps and is located above the corresponding columnar spacer, and   only the light-blocking components are capable of blocking the light.   
     
     
         2 . The active retarder according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the light-blocking components comprise light-blocking parts each overlapping the corresponding columnar spacer in the plan view.   
     
     
         3 . A display device comprising:
 an image display panel including pixels; and   the active retarder according to  claim 2 .   
     
     
         4 . The active retarder according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the columnar spacers include at least one of a columnar spacer having a circular shape in the plan view and a columnar spacer having a rounded rectangular shape in the plan view.   
     
     
         5 . The active retarder according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the columnar spacers are arranged randomly.   
     
     
         6 . The active retarder according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the columnar spacers are formed on a side of one of the pair of substrates, and the columnar spacers comprise:
 a first spacer disposed in a state that, in a cross-sectional view, the liquid crystal layer is present between the first spacer and the other one of the pair of substrates, and 
 a second spacer other than the first spacer. 
   
     
     
         7 . The active retarder according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein, in the plan view, unit regions with the same arrangement pattern of the columnar spacers are disposed with constant repeating pitches.   
     
     
         8 . The active retarder according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the liquid crystal molecules satisfy the following inequality (1):   
       
         
           
             
               
                 
                   
                     
                       K 
                       11 
                     
                     ≥ 
                     
                       
                         γ 
                         1 
                       
                       / 
                       
                         { 
                         
                           
                             
                               ( 
                               Δε 
                               ) 
                             
                             2 
                           
                           × 
                           1.3 
                           × 
                           
                             10 
                             11 
                           
                         
                         } 
                       
                     
                   
                 
                 
                   
                     ( 
                     1 
                     ) 
                   
                 
               
             
           
         
         where K 11  represents a splay elastic constant (pN) of the liquid crystal molecules; γ 1  represents a rotational viscosity coefficient (mPa·sec) of the liquid crystal material; and Δε represents an anisotropy of dielectric constant of the liquid crystal molecules. 
       
     
     
         9 . The active retarder according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the active retarder is driven in an electrically controlled birefringence (ECB) mode.   
     
     
         10 . A display device comprising:
 an image display panel including pixels; and   the active retarder according to  claim 1 .   
     
     
         11 . The display device according to  claim 10 , further comprising a backlight. 
     
     
         12 . The display device according to  claim 10 ,
 wherein a light diffusing adhesive layer is disposed between the image display panel and the active retarder.   
     
     
         13 . The display device according to  claim 10 ,
 wherein the image display panel is configured to sequentially display an image intended for a right eye and an image intended for a left eye by time-based switching, and   the active retarder is configured to control an application of voltage to the liquid crystal layer in synchronization with the time-based switching and to change a polarization state of light between the image intended for the right eye and the image intended for the left eye.   
     
     
         14 . The display device according to  claim 13 ,
 wherein the display device is configured to display one of the image intended for the right eye and the image intended for the left eye in a normally white mode and to display the other one of the image intended for the right eye and the image intended for the left eye in a normally black mode.   
     
     
         15 . A display device comprising:
 an image display panel including pixels; and   an active retarder for a three-dimensional (3D) image display, the active retarder comprising:
 an optical laminate that comprises:
 a pair of substrates; 
 a pair of electrodes disposed between the pair of substrates; 
 a liquid crystal layer formed from a liquid crystal material containing liquid crystal molecules; 
 columnar spacers; and 
 light-blocking components, each shielding a corresponding columnar spacer, among the columnar spacers, from light, 
 
   wherein the light-blocking components are arranged in a dot pattern in a plan view correspondingly to the columnar spacers that are arranged in a dot pattern in the plan view,   in the plan view, unit regions with the same arrangement pattern of the columnar spacers are disposed with constant repeating pitches, and   a length of a pitch included in the constant repeating pitches and parallel to a long side A of a display region of the display device is not an integer multiple of a length of a pitch included in pixel pitches of the image display panel and parallel to the long side A.   
     
     
         16 . A display device comprising:
 an image display panel including pixels; and   an active retarder for a three-dimensional (3D) image display, the active retarder comprising:
 an optical laminate that comprises:
 a pair of substrates; 
 a pair of electrodes disposed between the pair of substrates; 
 a liquid crystal layer formed from a liquid crystal material containing liquid crystal molecules; 
 columnar spacers; and 
 light-blocking components, each shielding a corresponding columnar spacer, among the columnar spacers, from light, 
 
   wherein the light-blocking components are arranged in a dot pattern in a plan view correspondingly to the columnar spacers that are arranged in a dot pattern in the plan view,   the image display panel has a black matrix layer disposed in a grid pattern in the plan view, and   at least one of the light-blocking components, referred to as a first light-blocking component, does not overlap the black matrix layer.   
     
     
         17 . The display device according to  claim 16 , wherein
 at least another one of the light-blocking components, referred to as a second light-blocking component, overlaps the black matrix layer.